Baal Kaanda
11 - Salutations to and the glory of the Name
Chaupais
Description
(Not only in this Kali age, but) in all the four ages*, at all times (past, present and future) and in all the three spheres (viz., heaven, earth and the subterranean region) creatures have been rid of grief by repeating the Name. The verdict of the Vedas and the Puranas as well as of saints is just this; that love of Rama (or the name 'Rama') is the reward of all virtuous acts. In the first age, contemplation; in the second age, sacrifice; in the Dvapara age the Lord is propitiated through worship. This age of Kali, however, is simply corrupt and the root of all impurities, where the mind of man wallows like a fish in the ocean of sin. In this terrible age the Name alone is the wish-yielding tree, the very thought of which puts an end to all the illusions of the world. The Name of Rama is the bestower of one's desired object in this age of Kali; It is beneficent in the other world and one's father and mother in this world. In Kaliyuga neither Karma (action) nor Bhakti (devotion) nor again Jnana (knowledge) avails; the name of Rama is the only resort. The age of Kali is as it were the demon Kalanemi, the repository of all wiles; whereas the Name is the wise and mighty Hanuman.†(1-4)